Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. A Halloween dare at her ridiculously spooky boarding school is no big deal, especially when her best friend Naya and cute local boy Caine agree to join in too. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary: say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it?

Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror - five days - but what does it mean? And who left it there? Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie and Naya, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie, Naya and Caine are now in a race against time before their five days are up and Mary comes for them, as she has come for countless others before... A truly spine-chilling yet witty horror from shortlisted 'Queen of Teen' author James Dawson. From: Goodreads.

The storyline:
It's actually pretty well explained in the book blurb, but I'll try and summarize the story without giving out any spoilers.

So, this is a story about Bloody Mary. However the take on it is amazing.

We're at a boarding school for girls in England, called Piper's Hall, our protagonists are Bobbie (the main character), her best friend Naya and Bobbie's crush Caine.
On Halloween night, Naya is dared by their classmate Sadie to call Bloody Mary and face her wrath. When Naya accepts and Caine decides to join in, Bobbie joins them in order to not leave them alone. They sneak back into Piper's Hall and go to one of the bathrooms and call Bloody Mary for five times, waiting for what to happen next, but nothing happens so they shrug it off and go to their dorms and Caine back to his school.
When the next day strange things start happening, Bobbie reconsiders the fact that they might actually be cursed. As she shares her fears with Naya, she thinks she's just getting punked by one of the girls or even by her friend. However, when Sadie disappears into thin air, and Caine starts experiencing those bizarre events as well, they realize that they've been indeed cursed and that they have exactly less than five days to live.
They start seeing Mary, having weird dreams and so they realize they have to find a way to not get killed, so they figure the only way is to uncover why Mary is so vengeful? What does she want? And why did she give them exactly five days before their time was up?

I'm not going to spoil it anymore ;). You'll have to read it to the last page to feel the chills in your bones.

What I loved:

The story of Bloody Mary is original and so vivid. As you read it you get the feeling you'll be hunted by her by just reading the book.

The writing style is amazing. I'm usually very skeptic about starting books by new authors (to me) because I'm not sure I'll love their writing style. From the moment I started reading this book until past half way through, I felt as I was inside a movie and the writing style just kept me inside. It's so smooth and immersive.

I love the characters. How every character in this book had a good part in it, even if they weren't the protagonist.

There's a mentioning of a character loving CSI: Miami and the Bloody Mary episode on Supernatural (my all-time favorite TV shows along with The Big Bang Theory and PLL), the last which got me thinking that maybe the episode is behind this book (although they have completely different story lines and yet certain similarities…no spoilers).

The ending!!! I kind of expected a certain twist but then I shrug it off telling myself not every book I read has to have a twist at the end. This one however… I wish there was a sequel and at the same time I'm glad there isn't, it leaves freedom to our imagination.

What I disliked:

After getting 50% into the story, the story got a little bit dull. But it could be just me since that was the part where Bobbie and Caine were starting to really get along. To me that wasn't the problem, the problem was that the story wasn't as strong and as it was before (scary and mysterious).

Characters:

Bobbie: A simple and shy British girl, who thinks she's neither too smart nor too beautiful. She keeps to herself and writes in her spare time. She hates boys and never dated before. She doesn't trust anybody and she loves her mother and best friend Naya. Throughout the book we see her grow up and how strong and smart she is. She'd do anything for those important to her.

Naya: A crazy, strong, funny and outgoing girl from New York and Bobbie's best friend. She speaks what's on her mind and she doesn't mind standing up for herself and those important to her.

Caine: A nice boy whom they never met until their classmate and venomous class leader, Grace, brought him on Halloween's night. He's a confident, nice, straight to the point guy who is somewhat shy and yet knows what he wants and is not afraid to show when he's scared or beaten.

Other characters worth mentioning: Grace, the leader of The Elites at Piper's Haul, a vicious and immoral girl who thinks she should always get what she wants and no one dares to even speak to her. Sadie: A somewhat not very evil girl, she called upon Bloody Mary twice and she's the one who told them the Bloody Mary legend and dared them to say it in the first place. She goes missing short after that.

Favorite quotes:

Caine nodded and rubbed a porthole for himself in the steamed-up window. 'Some people just shine a bit brighter than others and it's got nothing to do with what they look like.' --- Chapter 15: Grave Matters

Bobbie wondered if that's how long you truly live for - until the last person who remembers you, until the final bouquet on your grave. --- Chapter 15: Grave Matters.

Bobbie took his hands. She didn't know why, but she voiced one of her greatest fears. 'You don't think I'm weird, do you?'
This time he did look at her. 'Only in a good way.'
Another tear threatened to make appearance. She held it back. This was a good thing. If she was taken by restless spirits she could at least say she'd died having met someone who got her. That was pretty cool. --- Chapter 22: Phantom Pregnancy.

Conclusion:
This is a great read if you're in a reading slump (like me) and/or love horror stories with ghosts and bloody scenes. It's somewhat short and is very well written.
Totally recommended!